Daily Devotion | Leviticus 19:26–37 | 2026 March 03

Title: Daily Devotion | Leviticus 19:26–37 | 2026 March 03

Scripture: Leviticus 19:26–37 (ESV, reference only)

Date: 2026 March 03

Speaker: Rev. John Chen

Transcribed, translated & edited by: Joseph Wang (Yufan)

Dear brothers and sisters, peace to you. Thank God for his grace. Let us come to study God’s word. Today we are studying Leviticus chapter 19, verses 26 through 37.

Let us pray. Lord, thank you for your grace, and for leading us into Daily Devotion. Each morning, you bring us to listen to your word, to know what a holy life is, so that we may continue to glorify you in our daily living. Be with us and lead us. We pray in Christ’s name. Amen.

Alright, let us look at verse 26: “You shall not eat any flesh with the blood in it.” This statute we have explained before, so we will not explain it again.

Then it says, “You shall not interpret omens or tell fortunes.” Fortune-telling and interpreting omens were common practices among the Canaanites. Those who call up spirits—before, in China, there were many such people too, the so-called spirit mediums. There were those who summoned spirits, those “divination children,” witches, spirit-men—there were many of these things.

God absolutely forbids this. They call up spirits; they explore the spiritual realm—these things are all forbidden. All superstition is forbidden. This is what God forbids, because God hates it. God hates it; God does not like people to probe into the spiritual realm.

Scripture has already been given to us. What we need is to obey Scripture—God’s will. Using sorcery and omens is, in the end, nothing but wanting to know certain things: to know one’s future by fortune-telling, by divination, by casting lots, and then to rely on some spiritual power to help oneself. Such things are absolutely forbidden by Scripture.

This violates the second commandment. God wants us to obey Jehovah alone.

Then verse 27: “You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard.” These verses are about male rituals or customs.

Ancient Chinese people were also like this: they would not shave their hair, and they would not shave their beards. They called it “a person’s hair,” received from one’s parents, so one must not shave it. That was the Chinese reasoning.

Then later, when the Qing entered and required Han people to shave their hair—this matter killed many people. The saying was, “Keep your head and do not keep your hair; keep your hair and do not keep your head.” They forced Chinese people to shave.

For the Ming, for Han culture, this was unacceptable, so many people were killed because of this.

I am giving this example not to say that Israelites were also like this, or that it was for the same reason. I am saying that “not shaving hair and not shaving beards” actually has a tradition in Eastern cultures.

But now we cannot know very precisely why, in Israel’s law, they were required not to shave their hair and not to shave their beards. What exactly was the reason?

Placed here, verse 27 is indeed not easy to understand. Was it a pagan custom? Because we know Egyptians shaved off all their hair. When we were teaching Exodus, we mentioned this: Egyptians liked cleanliness, so they shaved all the hair on their bodies.

So what is the reason here? We are not very sure. Is it because it was a pagan custom, or something else?

But verse 28 is clearly a pagan custom: “You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead.” This is obviously a custom in idolatrous worship.

But verse 27—what exactly was the reason—is not clear. Still, now you know that Israelites are like this as well. For example, a more traditional, more devout Israelite Jew—his hair is long even from a young age, and his beard is also long.

(Because they do not shave.) This is what they follow. If you want to know which law they follow, it is Leviticus 19:27. They obey this law, so they do not shave even today.

And if they do not shave, indeed you cannot easily tell what the person’s face looks like, but this is truly a law that Jews still follow today.

The reason is not especially clear—whether it was to make them distinct from the Gentiles so they could be easily recognized, or something like that—I do not really know.

Then verse 28 we have spoken of: cutting oneself for the dead—that is a pagan custom.

It was a custom in pagan worship, in pagan rituals: to cut oneself for the dead. And then, “You shall not tattoo yourselves.” That is, you must not get tattoos.

Christians should remember: you must not get tattoos.

What is the reason for not getting tattoos? Of course, think about the purpose of tattoos—if you want to get a tattoo, it is surely not for a good purpose. Either it is to intimidate people, or to show off something about yourself—like in the underworld, people tattoo a dragon on their body, as if they themselves are a dragon. This is, of course, what God hates.

So the purpose of tattoos is not upright in itself. Either it is tied to some kind of “rules,” or tied to those kinds of “gang” things—so it is normal that Scripture forbids tattoos.

Verse 29 says, “Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, lest the land fall into prostitution and the land become full of depravity.” This verse is especially directed toward the responsibility of parents.

Because we know: if there are many prostitutes in a society, it is clearly a great harm to that society, whether in marriage relationships, or in creating temptation in the world.

Those women, in order to survive, will continually entice men who already have households—this is certain, because they need to survive. This also brings many unstable factors to society.

But here, verse 29 places this responsibility upon parents: parents must remember to raise their daughters well; do not let your daughter become a prostitute.

I think this teaching is a very wise teaching. Why? Because in ancient times, there were many children, and parents might focus more on educating boys, while girls were not really cared for.

And of course, since we are sinners, we naturally love the world. Then, if this girl cannot be properly educated, she can easily drift toward evil.

If she is beautiful, and full of desire for the world, and her self (“old self,” her ego) is very strong, then it becomes very easy for her to use prostitution as a way to satisfy her desires.

But here the responsibility is put on parents: parents must have the responsibility to raise their daughters, to give their daughters knowledge and wisdom, so that they do not become prostitutes.

Then verse 30: “You shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD.”

When these verses are placed together, it feels even more strange: first, the responsibility for prostitution is placed upon parents, and then verse 30 seems unrelated to verse 29.

So many people, when they interpret these verses, think there is no connection—perhaps Moses wrote whatever came to mind, and just wrote it down casually.

But I personally do not think it is like that. On the contrary, I think there is a very profound connection between verses 29 and 30.

What is it? If parents do not educate their daughters well, their daughters may become prostitutes. So how do you teach your daughter?

You teach your daughter to keep the Sabbath and to reverence the sanctuary. I think this is a very wise method.

You bring your daughter from childhood into God’s presence: keep the Sabbath, learn God’s statutes and rules, and have a heart that fears God.

I think placing verses 29 and 30 together is great wisdom. They are not unrelated at all. On the contrary, there is a high wisdom here.

Moses places them here; it looks like two verses that do not match, but they actually have wisdom.

And what is that wisdom? How do parents raise a daughter? How do you raise your daughter?

You let your daughter keep the Sabbath, to know where the boundaries are, to know the rest God gives on the Sabbath.

Do not love the world in your own way; do not use your own methods to love the world. Rather, enjoy rest in the Lord. God will provide what we need.

And have a heart that fears God. Fear the LORD. Let your daughter know that this world was created by God.

A godly woman naturally will not become a prostitute. So I think that is the meaning here.

So here, I even think this connection between verses 29 and 30 tells us exactly how we should raise daughters.

Of course, I am not saying sons should not be raised this way, but the connection in this text is, I think, a great help for families with daughters.

Because here—this is also true in China—if a family has many children, they especially value sons, and they do not care for daughters.

Chinese people used to say daughters are “money-losing goods.” That was before. Now they say they are “money-making goods.”

Both viewpoints are wrong. This is an insult to women.

What is a woman? A woman will in the future bear the responsibility of a mother. She is an important link in the transmission of godliness for a people.

So how do we make a young woman godly? Scripture tells us: keep the Sabbath.

Bring your daughter to keep the Sabbath, keep family worship, reverence Jehovah. In this way, from childhood, in an environment of reverence, she follows God.

If you lead your daughter this way, you have not profaned your daughter. When she grows up, she will not become a prostitute. She will become a godly woman, and she will raise a godly offspring.

I think that is the meaning.

Alright. Verse 31: those who call up spirits, those who practice witchcraft, those who inquire of them—this is certainly not allowed. And this defiles them. “I am the LORD your God.”

This verse is easier to understand, because verses 26 and 27 already said it clearly.

So, brothers and sisters, we remind everyone here: God especially hates our involvement with calling up spirits.

Some people are curious about fortune-telling, divination, drawing lots. Even for children—when they turn one year old, some people do “grabbing lots” (choosing objects). Do not do this, alright? This is not something to play with.

And then there is also—like watching certain short videos. I do not really know much about this; I only heard that on Kuaishou and Douyin there are some supernatural stories, ghost stories, and supernatural phenomena, even videos like that.

Do not touch these things. These things might be of the devil—these messy things—do not touch them. God hates them.

Christians are holy. We do not watch Satan’s works, the devil’s works. We do not use these things, because God hates them.

“I am the LORD your God.” Fear the one true God.

Calling up spirits violates the first commandment and the second commandment. And when we fellowship with these things, we become defiled. They are unclean spirits. If we fellowship with them, are we not defiled?

So do not have such thoughts.

Then verse 32: “You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the LORD.”

This connection with verse 31 is a very good connection: why should you honor the elderly? Because we honor God, who is our Creator.

So we honor God, and we honor the elderly. Reverencing God is the same principle: reverencing authority.

Chinese people are very happy when they see this verse, because in Chinese culture we have, from childhood, a tradition of honoring the elderly.

But here, when I explained the fifth and sixth commandments, I also especially reminded everyone: what is the biggest problem with Chinese culture?

It only emphasizes the responsibility of the younger generation, but it does not emphasize the responsibility of the older generation.

This is actually evil. Elders also have responsibility.

Do not think that elders should simply receive the respect of the younger and live a good life. It is not like that.

Elders still have responsibility and duty to love and protect the younger, to lead them to grow in a healthy way, to pray for them, to bless them, and to lighten their pressure. That is the responsibility of elders.

So the fifth commandment is a very comprehensive teaching: it requires the younger to respect the older, and it also requires the older to care for the younger.

This is what verse 32 tells us.

Verse 33 says: you must not oppress the foreigner. When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you must not do him wrong.

You shall treat him as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself.

In a sinful culture, if you understand Chinese culture, you can see this clearly: now it is a bit better, but when we were young, people bullied outsiders.

Outsiders came to your place, and locals would exploit them and oppress them—bullying outsiders. I do not know if everyone had that kind of culture when you were young. But when I was young, in our place, there was that kind of culture.

People would especially look down on those who speak a different language. That is a very ignorant and narrow way of thinking.

Maybe now it is better; cities are bigger, maybe people do not think that way as much. But it seems that in Shanghai and Beijing they still have this kind of culture of discriminating against people from other places.

This is what God hates. You must love your neighbor as yourself. This is a principle of love: even a foreign neighbor you must love.

And God gives a reason here: “for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.”

The reason is: you yourselves were once sojourners. I treated you with grace; I made you masters of this land; therefore you must also treat kindly those who come among you.

Those who come to Israel are to fear Jehovah, so God requires them to treat these people kindly.

Alright. Then verses 35 to 36: when you judge, you shall not be unjust. Whether measures, balances, or weights—everything must be just.

The scales, the weights, the measures, the ephah and hin—all must be honest. This is because God is a just God.

In fact, when we read this, it is easy to understand, right? You must not be like bad people.

How do bad people do it? They use different scales, different weights, so that they can make money. This is what God hates.

When you buy, you use a false scale; when you sell, you also use a false scale. The purpose is to gain more profit. God hates this. In judgment you must have fairness and righteousness.

In fact, we read this easily, and we all long for fairness, but in reality, fairness is the hardest.

Why is fairness so hard? One reason is our own limitations: each of us considers things from our own interests, from our own angle.

This is one aspect—our human limitation. Because I am me, I can only consider my issues; I cannot consider your issues. That is limitation.

The second reason is the defilement of sin. Sin makes us only look at ourselves and not at others.

So for these two reasons—first, we are limited; second, our sinfulness—although we long for fairness and desire fairness, what we do is not fair.

Why? Because everyone centers on himself. I think what I do is good; you think what you do is good. In the end, everyone takes his own interests as the main thing. So fairness is, in reality, the hardest.

If you have done any management work, you know fairness is the hardest, because everyone speaks from their own side.

So Scripture gives us a wisdom: if you want to judge a matter, you must listen to both sides.

“Both sides” means: you must listen to the one who complains, and you must also listen to the one who is complained against.

Do not listen only to one side. Do not “hear one side and believe it.” Because the one who speaks one side may intentionally deceive you—maybe. But sometimes he is not intentionally deceiving; he is speaking his true feeling.

You think he has a point, but where is the problem? The problem is that people must not be partial.

You must listen more. If you are a judge, you must remember: whether in the church or in society, you must listen.

If a husband and wife quarrel, you must listen to what the husband says, and you must listen to what the wife says.

Do not listen only to the husband, or only to the wife. That is the person without wisdom.

Because the husband will talk about how terrible his wife is; the wife will talk about how terrible her husband is. But if you stand as a mediator and look at it, actually both are wrong—both have problems.

So this is a wisdom: we must have a heart that seeks fairness.

And in this matter of “be fair,” God gives several principles.

First: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.”

Why is this a reason? Why does God remind the judges here?

Because you are one who has been saved. When you judge, you must have a merciful heart.

This “justice,” this “fairness,” cannot be separated from mercy.

When you consider a matter, you may not only consider the matter itself; you must also consider the one who bears it—his ability, his responsibility.

Fairness is a very complex system.

Let me give a simple example: in a family, you have children dividing cake.

I have three children, so I divide the cake into three portions. That seems fair. But is it truly fair? Actually, it is not fair.

Why? Because the oldest is older; he should eat more. The youngest is young; he should eat less. Right?

I am saying this to show: what we think is fairness may be too simple. In reality, fairness is very complex.

So why does God remind us, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt”?

Fairness and mercy must be together. You must have a merciful heart.

Some matters should be done by you; indeed you should do them. But you must consider his age, his responsibility, and whether he can do it well.

You must have a heart of mercy.

This is why God uses these verses as a reminder: how should you do it? What is fairness?

Then, “And you shall observe all my statutes and all my rules, and do them: I am the LORD.”

In the end, what is true fairness? Only when you follow the law will there be fairness. If you do not follow the law, there is no fairness.

This is a deeper teaching: only when you take God’s law as the rule, as the plumb line, as the standard, can you truly know what fairness is, and how to practice fairness.

So today, as we look at Leviticus 19, we have explained it in a bit more detail.

In each section, God gives a command—what you must do—and then he gives a reason.

Some reasons are simple, such as, “I am the LORD your God.” Some are given more clearly, with an explanation—why you have this statute.

And then there is that kind of connection like verses 29 and 30, which looks unrelated, but in fact, the opposite is true: those reasons that look unrelated are actually more wise reasons.

So we should read Leviticus 19 like this.

This is just a daily morning devotion, spoken fairly simply. But you must look carefully: what is the command? What is the reason? Why does God mention this reason?

Then you connect them together, and you will know God’s intention better, and you will better obey God’s law, so that your life becomes more holy.

So I think these statutes of the law still have very real and practical guidance for us today.

You must read well. Do not think it has nothing to do with us. Do not think, “There is a vocational crisis,” and after seeing it you just turn the page and do not read it.

No. In every verse, we should especially stop and find the connections in it, and truly think, and then keep it in daily life.

Alright. That is all for today’s sharing, in a simple way. Thank you, everyone.